Devon sunshine in Brixham!

The Dittisham Princess 

Our friends Steve and Frances made a flying 24 hour visit to Torbay this week so we thought we would take advantage of the gorgeous weather and sail across to Brixham for the afternoon. The Western Lady Ferry from Torquay to Brixham is excellent value at just £3 return per person for the 30-40 minute crossing. Yesterday the bay was millpond smooth. It was a little hazy so there weren't the most amazing views out to sea, but we could look all across the bay. The view of Brixham as we approach from the water is one of my favourites anywhere.

Once in Brixham we treated ourselves to a good seafood lunch at the Buller's Arms. The window table gave us a good view of the William of Orange statue apparently waiting at the bus stop for his journey to London!
We shared the delicious Scallops starter between us all and then I had Jacket Potato with Crab. A proper Jacket Potato! The Plaice And Chips and Seafood Tagliatelle were also enjoyed and portions are big so we didn't need dessert.

Brixham 

We had planned to walk up to Berry Head, but lingering too long over lunch meant we only left ourselves time to walk out to the Lido and back. I loved the little Pride In Brixham gardens along the harbour side. The one with the mountain sheep was my favourite. These spaces are a great idea to liven up the walk and showcase the town spirit. The Lido however looked a bit the worse for wear and we wondered if it would be ready in time for its May reopening.

Back in Brixham harbour, we just had time for a local Yarde Farm ice cream before our return ferry. I liked my Cherry Custard one, but Dave was underwhelmed with the non-chunkiness of his Chocolate Chunk flavour!
I got to see that beautiful Brixham view again as we sat facing off the back of the Dittisham Princess as we sailed away.

Brixham 

Thank you to Steve Royston for the photographs in this post. You probably all noticed the higher-than-usual quality!

Walking from Brixham to Berry Head and beyond

Brixham 

I'm glad we made the most of yesterday's glorious weather by packing up sandwiches and heading out on a walk. We decided to take advantage of the Western Lady ferry connection between Torquay and Brixham which, at just £3 for a return ticket, is excellent value - cheaper than the bus and quicker too! We got great views across Torbay from the water and there was even a commentary on the way out drawing passengers' attention to the main sights.

Torquay and Brixham harbours were both very busy due to it being half-term holiday week, but once we ascended up to the streets above, everything quietened. I liked seeing older buildings such as a row of stone fishermen's cottages and the grandeur of Wolborough House. We followed a narrowing road out of town until we spotted our footpath leading through woods towards Berry Head. It was actually pleasant to get out of the sun into dappled shade for a while as we continued uphill.

View from the coast path 

The South West Coast Path is reasonably well signposted and affords gorgeous views out to sea. It is also less undulating here than at other sections along its route so not such hard work to walk! I loved the occasional stone stiles which are apparently left-over from the Coast Path's original function as a coastguards' walk. They would patrol the top of the cliffs looking out for smugglers! Now the Coast Path is the longest National Trail with a total length of 630 miles. Yesterday's we only covered about 3-4 miles each way towards the headland at Sharkham Point.

En route we diverted to explore each of the two Napoleonic forts at Berry Head. Human inhabitation on Berry Head dates back to at least the Iron Age and even more ancient history can been seen by examining the fort stones for fossils. The Napoleonic forts, North and South, were built between 1795 and 1805 when England was at war with France. The southern site now has an interesting small visitor centre which has historical exhibits and information about the varied local flora and fauna. There is also a nice cafe here and a bird hide overlooking seabird colonies on the cliffs.

Napoleonic fort at Berry Head 

Dave eats 'the best cake in months' in Brixham

Yesterday, being Saturday, we didn't have any flats to view

Dave loved one of these!
Scroll down to see which and where ...

so thought we might indulge in a spot of sightseeing instead. I had stayed at a Pontins holiday camp near Paignton with my grandparents, probably twenty-five years ago now, and didn't remember the town at all and Dave says we visited Brixham with Chris and Marta, albeit a decade ago, and I can't recall that either. For those of you wondering at my terrible memory, it's always been like that. The acts of reading and writing tend to cement experiences in my mind so I can often remember books I have read far better than places I have actually visited. It's part of the reason I blog our travels so extensively now - recalling a blog post opens up memories that would otherwise vanish!

We began in Paignton with a stroll around and the

Demolition site in Paignton 

intention of checking out a few second-hand furniture shops. Since our Axminster visit last summer alerted us to the savings and more interesting styles to be found by going 'vintage', we agreed that this would be the best and most fun way to kit out any new non-travelling abode. To be honest, Paignton itself underwhelmed both of us. Elegant old buildings are in poor states of repair and the whole town felt quite run-down and unloved. We spotted pretty stained glass windows in this house pictured, but it is now just a facade, soon to be demolished like the rest of the building. On a more positive note, we found several pre-loved furniture shops, these best of which I think was The Bargain Box because everything was laid out with room to view. We also discovered a great little Asian supermarket, Siam, where we got more sweet chilli sauce and noted they have black rice for more of Kim's Rice Pudding. Our two-hour car park ticket was plenty here though and we drove on to Brixham.

The first thing to note about Brixham is the distance from

View from Brixham harbour walk 

the harbour car park into the harbour itself. We had just started to be concerned that we had missed the turning when we found it. The road gets very narrow and I bet it is great 'fun' in the height of summer! Walking back in along the harbourside was picturesque and I loved looking over at the pretty painted houses on the opposing hills. Brixham certainly is charming! We stayed mostly around by the harbour, wandering through the last of the Arts And Crafts Market, peering in at the touristy souvenir and homewares shops, and wondering how on earth seventy-one men managed to live together on the Golden Hind for months at a time without all murdering each other!

Ultimately, coffee called though and we decided on The Bay Coffee Company to patronise. They have three shops in Brixham and the enticing cake display pictured at the top of this post. (I have 'borrowed' their photo from twitter as I forgot to snap one myself.) I had a slice of Lemon Treacle Tart which was lovely if not particularly lemony, and Dave's 'best cake in months' comment was for his Yogurt Topped Raspberry Flapjack - shown far left on the middle shelf. So now you know - and when Dave compliments food then it must be excellent! I picked up a loyalty card as I think we may well return.

Let them eat fish - a real Banksy?